Improvement in cannon



J. ADAMS. Muzzle-Loading Ordnance.

Nv-imm.

WITNESSES.

UNiTnD STATES PATENT FFICE. j

JOSEPH ADAIWIS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND B.

BARKER, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CANNON.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 25,929. dated October25, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, .IosErH ADAMS, of Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements inCannon; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full andcomplete description of the construction and operation of the same,reference being. had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecification, in which Figure l is a side view. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section. Fig. 3 is a view of the breech-pin andramrod, and Fig. 4. is a view of the cartridge and ball.

Like letters refer to like partsin the several figures.

The nature of my invention consists in such a construction andarrangement of parts that the charge is drawn into the gun by means of arod that works through the breech, and when discharged by the act ofreloading, the bore of the gun is lled with water from a fountain at-`tached to the breech of the cannon, which not only serves to keep thegun clean, but also yto keep it cool, whereby a constant succession ofdischarges may be kept up for an indenite period of time without themetal becoming heated.

In Figs.. 1 and 2, A represents the barrel of the cannon. This may bemade of gun-metal, and cast in the usual manner. The lining, which ismade of steel or other-metal, is represented at B in Fig. 2. In order tointroduce this lining the body of the cannon for about half its lengthfrom the breech forward to C is bored out about the sixteenth .of aninch larger than it is from C to the muzzle of the gun, leaving ashoulder at C, as seen in Fig. 2. The lining is accurately iitted tothis, and as the gun is open at the breechthis lining is introduced atthat end of the barrel and driven or pressed in until the enlargedportion meets the shoulder C, or the lining may be accurately formed andinserted intol the mold, and the fused metal cast around it. At aboutonethird of the distance from the shoulder C toward the breech, the boreof the steel lining is enlarged, as seen at D, this enlargement be` ingat the point where the ball would rest when the piece was charged. Theobject of this enlargement in the bore will be explained hereinafter.The breech-pin E is a little larger in. diameter than the steel lining,and is secured to the. breech by a strong screw-thread, which fitsclosely and accurately another thread `in the breech of the gun, theinner end of the pin E pressing hard against the breech end of thelining B. The breech pin is pierced throughout its whole length with ahole of much less diameter than the bore of the gun, that part situatedwithin the barrel of the gun, as seen at F, being larger than in thatpart of the breech-pin that is external to the body of the gun. Ametallic rod, G, of suflicient length to reach'to the muzzle of the guniits snugly into this portion of the breech-pin, through which it can bedrawn. The rod G is long enough to reach the whole length of the barrel,and the end that projects from the breech is furnished with a suitablehandle, H, by which it is operated. That end which reaches to the muzzleof the gun is provided with a piston-head, I, the main body of whichislarge enough to admit the end of the rod G. The diameter of this part ofthe piston is just equal to the bore F in the breech-pin, so that thebody J will just fill the bore F. The head of the piston I is of thesaine diameter of the bore of the gun, so that the shoulder of thepistonhead rests upon the inner end of the breechpin, when the rod G isdrawn back out of the gun. 'Ihe piston therefore rests upon theshoulders formed by the bottom of the cavity F andthe end of thebreech-pin, forming a tight joint with both; or the bore F may be of thesame size of the bore of the gun, in which case the body of the pistonwould correspond. The end of the piston-head I projects a short distancebeyond the muzzle of the gun, when the rod G is shoved in, as seen inFig. 1, and is provided with a hole, a, in the end thereof, into whichthe stem e of the cartridge, Fig. 4, is inserted preparatory to chargingthe gun.

This cartridge is made in the followingnamed manner: A tube of thintin-plate or other suitable substance is formed of a trifle Alessdiameter than the bore of the gun, and

having sufficient length to hold the desired amount of powder for acharge. This tube is seen at K in Fig. 4. Each end of this tube isclosed, with the exception of a small hole in lthe center of each, forthe introduction of the stem e, which is attached to the base of theball, as seen in Fig. 4. A thimble, z', made` 4the ball, so that thelips of the thimble (which is equivalent to the leather patch used uponrifle-balls) embrace the base of the ball at o, which -is about thethickness of the metal of which the thimble is composed, smaller thanthe ball at the largest part, there being thus a space between the baseof the ball and the bottom of the thimble sufficient to allow the lip topass over upon the largest portion of the ball whenever a slightpressure is caused to act upon the bottom of the thimble. This isaccomplished at the instant the charge is ignited, while the ball is atrest in the cavity D,

9the inertia of the ball and the slight attachment of the stem to thepiston-head being sufficient for this purpose. The ball being thussurrounded by the soft metallic patch, in passing into the riiiedportion of the bore, which is situated between the cavity D and themuzzle of the gun, sufficiently impresses the metal of the thimbleintothe spiral grooves in the interior ofthe gun to communicate a spiralmotion to the ball. XVhen the cartridge-stem e is inserted into thepiston-head it is secured by a small wooden pin, a, inserted into thehole u. This pin has sufficient strength to draw the cartridge into thegun; but it is destroyed in the act of discharging, and offers noimpediment to the exit ofthe ball. The tube K will usually remain in thebarrel of the gun after the discharge; but in pushing the rod G forwardto receive another charge, whatever may remain will be removed by beingpushed out of barrel at its muzzle. The under side of the breech of thegun is provided with a sackfountain, L, of such dimensions as to beequal to three or four times the capacity of the bore of the gun. Atube, M, is inserted into the under side of the breech into the bore, sothat a free communication exists between the interior of the sack andthe bore 5 but this communication must be below the end of the piston,when the rod G is drawn out from the breech, so that all communicationis cut off between the charge and the tube M. The tube M is surroundedby the sack L, which may be made of strong canvas or indiarubbercloth;or the tube may be connected with a fountain of water in any other way.In case the sack -fountain is used there must be a free communicationbetween the interior of the tube and the sack. Now, it follows that ifthe rod G is pushed forward when the sack is filled with water, or thepipe M in connection with a fountain, the air will be expelled from thebarrel by the piston I, and the water from the sack will rush in tosupply the place, and when the rod is drawn back the water will againreturn to the sash. YThus at every movement of the rod and piston thebore of the gun is drenched with water, which keeps it both cool andclean.

This gun may be constructed with a solid breech, but having the hole forthe rod G and the lateral opening for the ingress and egress of thewater.

I am aware that the charge of a cannon has been introduced through themuzzle by a piston and rod passed through the breech, but unconnectedwith any means for cooling and cleaning, as herein set forth, andtherefore I do not claim the rod and piston when used alone; but

I claim l. The use and application of a piston for the purpose ofloading, cleaning, and cooling a cannon, the stem or rod G of whichpasses through the breech or rear end ofthe gun and is attached to ahead or metallic piston, the circumference of which is equal to that ofthe bore ofthe cannon, and is made to iit the same exactly, and whichpiston-head when drawn back rests upon the main shoulder or substanceofthe breech at the point where the rod G connects therewith, and is ofsufficient length to cover and serve as a Valve to close the lateralopening at the breech end of the cannon through which water is admittedto fill the bore ofthe gun when said piston is forced forward toward themuzzle, and which piston plays forward and backward the entire length ofthe bore of the gun, so as to protrude sufficiently at the muzzle whenforced forward, thus carrying 4out any substance of the eX- haustcdcartridge after ring, and to which piston head or bulb the new cartridgeis attached and drawn back to the breech or butt of the gun by the forceapplied to said rod, and in which condition the gun is loaded and readyto be again discharged.

2. The construction and'employment of a lateral opening from the mainchamber or bore of the gun, either passing through the breech-pin orotherwise, at or near the rear end thereof, and where the same will beclosed and covered by the piston-head when the same is fully drawn backinto, (or by means of a tube or pipe connecting with a water sack orVesseh) and by means of which arrangement water is admitted and drawninto the gun by the same force which carries the piston forwardtoreceive the charge at the muzzle, and is returned to the vessel again bythe same force which carries in the charge, thus washing and cooling thegun at every discharge without -any other movement than that necessarilyemployed in the act of loading alone.

JOSEPH ADAMS. NTitnesses:

J. BRAINERD, NV. H. BURRIDGE.

